Digital Biomarkers Market Trends and Drivers

Trends in Digital Biomarkers Market

Integration of AI Is Major Trend

The healthcare system is evolving into a value-based delivery model, which spurs the development of AI-integrated digital biomarkers, enabling a better analysis of patients’ health information. With the advancements in the AI and ML techniques, key insights can be derived of the data collected via wearables and mobile applications, as well as from the real-time, non-invasive monitoring of physiological and behavioral patterns.

For instance, continuous glucose monitoring systems enable personalized diabetes management, while mHealth applications, such as SmokeBeat, analyze smoking behavior using the sensors of a smartphone. Further, major HIT companies, including ActiGraph, Huma, and Biogen, are investing in research and development for the improvement of the healthcare infrastructure. Similarly, software as medical device (SaMD) firms are working to seamlessly integrate digital biomarkers into clinical practice, for enhanced data evaluation.

AI and ML enhance the discovery of biomarkers by assessing compounded multi-omics data on patients’ protein, genetic, and metabolite makeup. Moreover, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) and Google DeepVariant improve genomic variant detection, while AI enhances the analysis of protein structure with MaxQuant and AlphaFold. AI is utilized in drug discovery, notably cancer chemotherapy, new compounds, and personalized therapies.

Further, AI augments the interoperability of digital biomarkers, enabling the real-time monitoring and early detection of health conditions. This improves the efficiency of clinical trials by greatly diminishing the sample sizes used in research, as evidenced by the recent studies of Roche and AstraZeneca.

Rising Smartwatch Usage and Government Initiatives Drive Market Growth

Government initiatives and partnerships with international manufacturers are the primary growth drivers for the digital biomarkers market, as the rising public healthcare expenditure worldwide increases the usage of digital biomarkers.

For instance, the European Union has allocated EUR 5.3 billion under its EU4Health program from 2021 to 2027 for public health, mental health, and the development of medical products. For digital health alone, the European Commission has earmarked EUR 25,750,000 for 2024 to integrate digital innovations into the healthcare infrastructure.

Similarly, the inter-government Global Initiative on Digital Health, conceptualized and overseen by the World Health Organization, aims to assess what countries need for digital healthcare, align resources and fund cash-starved nations, and encourage local development.

Moreover, India’s digital health initiatives include the Aarogya Setu mobile app, eSanjeevani telemedicine service, hospital information management system, e-BloodBank mobile app, online registration system, and e-RaktKosh blood bank management system.

Inadequate Knowledge and Data Privacy Concerns Hinder Market Growth

The growth of the digital biomarkers market faces numerous challenges, primarily in developing regions, such as Latin America (LATAM) and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Most healthcare professionals and patients here are unaware of the benefits and applications of digital biomarkers. In addition, the lack of qualified practitioners to use these technologies worsens the problem, widening the gap in service delivery compared to the developed regions of Europe and North America.

The other significant obstacles are data security issues and strict guidelines in this regard. The varying regulatory policies across countries create further complexity in compliance and operations for companies that offer digital biomarker solutions. Moreover, in some emerging economies, access to reliable and secure internet and developed technology infrastructure is still limited, thus hampering digital health tools from being utilized to their full potential.